Originally this post was extremely short. I shared what scripture I would be focusing on in March of 2018, and that’s basically it. However, this was another highly looked up post from readers, and I did not like that there was no study on the scripture. So, what you see below is the new post. The original scripture is broken down and I quite enjoyed the study. The old post is still up for those who find it. But I wanted to share with you the awesomeness of God being our Rock, Sword, and Shield. Enjoy!
April 13th, 2021 Update- Many of my readers are intrigued by this scripture. It’s one of my most popular posts that readers look to. And I feel bad that the original post did not really give that much in detail. So, what you see now is an updated post to help you have more scriptural connections on “My rock, My sword, and My shield.” Honestly, I’ve taken a lot away from the updated post, and I hope you will, too.
Several years back, there was a song I was introduced to and it set me on a search to figure out what the scripture says. There’s a lyric that reads, “My rock. My sword. My shield,” referring to the Lord. I was excited when I finally tracked down the inspiration.
(NIV) 2 Samuel 22:02-04, “He said: “The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior– from violent people you save me. “I called to the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and have been saved from my enemies.”
NOTE ABOUT CONTEXT: Please let me make this clear. This particular verse is NOT about us going into battle. Our enemies today are not the enemies mentioned in 2nd Samuel 22. What I want to do is look at the names given to the Lord. We will find that by focusing on the truth of the Lord we will be able to see how these truths of God interact with the lives of all believers. Okay, everyone on the same page? Let’s keep going.
It’s quite a powerful scripture, is it not? In 2 verses, we have a list of names/descriptions for the Lord.
- My Rock x2
- My Fortress
- My Deliverer
- My God
- My Refuge x2
- My Shield
- Horn of Salvation
- My Stronghold
- My Savior
- Worthy of Praise
- (Both My Rock and My Refuge are repeated, this shows significance, as repetition in the scriptures show importance.)
There are many truths in these 2 verses that connect to the Holy Spirit and Jesus. After studying what I have found, it’s quite powerful to see the similarities.
Now, the title of this post relates to God being a sword. So, where do we get that and does it connect to this scripture?
(ESV) Ephesians 6:17, “and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
We can see the word of God is compared to a sword, it’s how we fight. The sword also represents the truth of God. The Lord is not a liar, so every word that is in the scriptures we can trust. A sword is meant to cut, to defend, to actively participate in something. 1st and 2nd Samuel both show us the importance of trusting the words of God. The kings who followed the Lord were able to conquer their enemies.
Before we continue discussing the sword, we need to discuss the shield.
My Shield.
Right now, I want to go back to the list of names the Lord is given. Let’s go one verse back in Ephesians, and we will see a mention of a shield.
(ESV) Ephesians 6:16, “In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one.”
God is referred to as a shield in 2nd Samuel. Now, Ephesians, while not connecting the shield to God (quite) says to take up the shield of faith. Where do we get faith from?
(ESV) Hebrews 12:02, “looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”
(ESV) Romans 10:17, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
It is only through Jesus Christ we can receive faith and it is only through the words of the Gospel that faith can enter. Let’s keep going, there’s more.
My Sword.
Now, it is very important to understand WHO the sword is and His connection to the word of God.
(ESV) John 1:01-05, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
Jesus is the Word of God. The scripture that bears the truth of Christ is our sword. Did you know the Holy Spirit speaks of Christ?
(ESV) John 16:13-14, “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.” After Jesus left, He promised the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, would come and remind the disciples of His words.
The scripture does not stop there.
Jesus is also:
- Our Refuge & Fortress – (ESV) Matthew 11:28, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
- Our Savior & Salvation – (ESV) 2 Timothy 1:10, “And now he has made all of this plain to us by the appearing of Christ Jesus, our Savior. He broke the power of death and illuminated the way to life and immortality through the Good News.”
- Our Deliverer – (ESV) 2 Corinthians 1:09-10, “Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again.“
- Our Rock & Stronghold– (ESV) 1 Peter 2:04-08, “As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.”
- Our God – There are many times Christ proclaims Himself to be God (how could a Man less than age 50 see Abraham, unless He was God?). The reason the Jews tried to stone Him multiple times is because of the claims He made. Who can forgive sins but God alone? Christ tells sinners that their sins are forgiven. (ESV) John 1:01, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” See video recommendation: Summary Of Jesus Deity in the book of Mark by James White (Matthew 9:05, Mark 2:09, Luke 5:23, and John 8:55-57) – it should be clear just as 2 Samuel was proclaiming the Lord to be all of these things, Jesus is all!
- Our Shield – A protection – (ESV) John 10:03, “But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.“ Shepherds would sleep in the gate to protect their flock. (ESV) John 10:09, “I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.”
- Worthy of Praise – (ESV) Revelation 5:12, “saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!”
My Rock.
There is an ongoing battle right now in the world. God is Sovereign and both demonic forces and man reject Him because of sin. In fact, those who have not put their faith in God are referred to as sons of disobedience, sons of Satan.
(ESV) Ephesians 2:01-03, “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins, in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.“ (Speaking of those who are alive in Christ now. We all once were sinners condemned to the wrath of God. Jesus became the atonement sacrifice for all who put their faith in Him. His righteousness is imputed to us and we are justified by His blood.)
(ESV) Ephesians 5:05-06, “ For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.”
Jesus is the only One who can break our bondage to sin. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. (John 14:06) We all are sinners and deserving of death. If we look at the world around us, we see the destruction sin causes. We see what sin does in our own lives and those around us. We are not righteous on our own, and even our best efforts are still filthy rags.
In the first scripture we looked at, the Lord is praised for saving the speaker from his enemies. While 2nd Samuel 22 is not talking about us, there are other scriptures that show us God saves us from our enemy, the devil.
(ESV) Hebrews 2:14, “Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. ” Jesus partook of the same things as a human, the God-Man, to destroy the power of death. This is why He became the atonement sacrifice. No other could do what Christ did.
Our foundation must be built upon the Rock of Jesus Christ. The sword we are to yield must be the word of God, which bears the truth of Jesus Christ. The shield that protects us is the Shepherd who died for His sheep. He gives us faith in Him through hearing the message of the Gospel. The message of the Gospel, like a shield, shares that the righteousness of Christ is imputed to all who put their faith in Him. Death has no grip on the saints because the ransom was paid with the blood of Christ. We are protected by Christ’s atonement sacrifice.
Jesus is our Rock, our Sword, and our Shield.
Why would a loving God kill His Son – Please See: Why Did A Loving God Kill His Son? (Does God Hate?)
Scripture To Memorize/Meditate On – (ESV) Romans 5:08, “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Community Prayer – April ‘21
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